1 Samuel 23:23-25

23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him among all the thousands of Judah.”

23:24 So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 23:25 Saul and his men went to look for him. But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon.

1 Samuel 24:17

24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you!

Psalms 38:12

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Psalms 140:4-9

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over.

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!

140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,

you shield 10  my head in the day of battle.

140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! 11 

Do not allow their 12  plan to succeed when they attack! 13  (Selah)

140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –

may the harm done by 14  their lips overwhelm them!


tn Heb “established.”

tn Heb “I will search him out.”

tn Heb “to search.”

tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”

tn Heb “lay snares.”

tn Heb “hands.”

tn Heb “to push down my steps.”

tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

10 tn Heb “cover.”

11 tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”

12 tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).

13 tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).

14 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.